The Vampire Diaries: What Lies Beneath The Lines
by BitterSweet LoveRott
Summary: What happens in between scenes that wasn't shown on TV? The same plot follows, but as to what happens behind the camera and all the madness goes on. Stefan/Elena/Damon with a little bit of OC going on. Starts from 'Founder's Day' till' Season 2.


**Summary**_**:**_

_Catalina Gilbert was Elena's 24-year-old aunt that unexpectedly came for a visit when she heard of her brother, John's, return to the small town of Mystic Falls in Virginia. She was given a warm welcome to their home and she obliged gratefully. But what they didn't know about? It was the plans she built up in her head and wrote down in her own personal journal. It was of what she knew and what she planned to do._

_It's a series of one-shots in one story. It's 'The Vampire Diaries' only with a little 'original character' going on. The same plot follows as what there is on the show, except for a few twists that may come in afterwards. With the same script, the same words, only with a little something more to add drama. Aunt Cate's coming to town, as if the main characters don't already have lots on their plate._

_I Do Not Own Anything. "The Vampire Diaries" belongs to CW, the channel, Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson, the producers with L.J. Smith, the original author of the book. They all belong to their rightful owners except for Catalina. She's mine._

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**Book I:**  
**Founder's Day: Part I**

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It was a fair day in Mystic Falls, just as it was supposed to be for it was no ordinary day for the town. It was the town's 'Founder's Day', but unlike the past 145 celebrations that went throughout the years, this was the first time _she_ had been needed to be a part of it, while the town was in the middle of a hidden crisis of _vampire havoc_. But she wasn't supposed to think about that today. It was a celebration, and when celebrations are called for, it's a time needed for complete relaxation.

_This isn't relaxing_, Elena thought to herself as Aunt Jenna helped her into a dress that she was supposed to wear for the parade soon to come a little later. It was tight, it was retro, it was so… 1864. "Ugh, this dress hurts." She hissed through her teeth when she felt the corset tighten around her torso. She placed the vervain necklace Stefan gave her around her neck and locked into position.

"Suck it in, baby." Jenna ordered her as she continued to struggle with tying the strap that sealed the back of her dress. Elena did as she was told and took a deep breath in. When Jenna finished what she was working on behind Elena, she gave a loud sigh and rested her palms on her knees. She breathed hard, as Elena did too. The dress was torture, but it looked good, and she looked perfect.

Elena had her hair curled and tied with a red rose ribbon. She wore the dress that opened up like a balloon below her with matching shoes. She gave a deep sigh and smiled at her reflection at her vanity table. "This is as good as it's gonna get. Thanks for helping me, Aunt Jenna. This dress was a maze that I just couldn't figure up by myself." She turned her head and looked at her aunt was lazily lying on the bed watching her intently.

"Well, you're welcome. And, you look beautiful, Elena."She smiled a toothless grin and then got up, when the doorbell interrupted their chitchat. _Who could that be?_ The question raised in both of their minds. Another round of rings of the doorbell rang inside the house. Jenna and Elena looked at each other before Jenna got off from the bed and briskly made her way toward the front door. Elena followed afterwards. She waited just a couple of flights up on the stairs as Jenna opened the door. Both of their eyes widened in shock.

A woman in her early twenties was in front of the door with a big traveler bag in both hands. She had black, short pixy spiked hair going in all directions sticking out from her head. Her bright pink lips were pulled into a wonderful smile and showed of the wonderful pearl whites of her teeth. Her light green eyes greeted a happy hello to the both of them, as they travelled on Jenna and Elena alternately.

Elena lifted her arms to the side and almost squealed in excitement as she desperately took her steps down the stairs carefully and immediately at the sight of her favorite aunt, alongside Aunt Jenna. "Aunt Cate!" She ran and then hugged the woman behind the doorframe quickly. "This is such a surprise! What are you doing here?"

"Yes, my beloved Catalina. We haven't seen each other for a while now. How have you been?" Jenna added sweetly as she took her turn to have her arms around her favorite sister-in-law. Cate pulled back from the arms of her closest sister-in-law and let out a soft giggle.

"Hello to you too, Elena. And I've been well, Jenna. I've heard that my brother has been causing havoc on your lives lately. I'm actually here to drag his butt back to Georgia." Cate declared as her eyes rolled in annoyance. "He's always been afraid of me from the very beginning. He may be my older brother, but I'm still stronger and braver than him." She laughed and then carried her bags. Jenna and Elena took sight of this.

"Oh, I was hoping if I could stay with you guys for a while, you know. Getting John out of this town is like trying to scrape off a leech on someone's skin. It'll take a while." She sighed and then Jenna and Elena exchanged glances.

"Sure, you could stay. That would finally give me a reason to kick John out of his room and force him to sleep on the couch." Jenna added with a grin as she came over and grabbed bag. Elena grabbed one too, and they entered the house. Cate remained outside, and crossed her arms across her chest. She clicked her tongue repeatedly and shook her head.

"You're not gonna invite me in? I thought people from the 1800's were polite? Elena…" Cate turned her head towards her niece and then smiled arrogantly, which far too reminded her of someone. Elena's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but Jenna actually got the words out of her mouth before Elena could protest in it.

"Come in, Catalina. You're too caught up in your own world of history." Jenna whispered with a grin and then began carrying her bags up the stairs. After Jenna uttered these words, Cate was unhesitant as she walked in the house with a victorious smirk on her face. Her hands were dug deep inside her leather jacket as she turned her head back and forth to observe the house. Elena couldn't seem to ignore her dangling earrings with blue stones on them: blue stones that looked familiar.

"Hey, Aunt Cate, I love your earrings. What are they?" Elena asked.

Cate placed her hands over her earrings and tucked away the strands of her hair that covered them to the back of her ears. She removed the lock that kept the earrings in place and held them in between her fingers. "It's just a few pieces of amethyst gemstones wrapped in white gold. Someone gave it to me a very long time ago." She whispered to Elena as she handed it to her. Elena took it gently from her hands and observed it. She knew her aunt was lying.

Her eyes narrowed in disbelief of what she saw lie on her hands. It wasn't what her aunt said it was, because she knew the difference of what an amethyst looked like, and what the stone in her hands looked like. She ran her fingertips on the stones as she continued to observe them carefully. "Really? Cause I did a search on mineral gemstones once, and the last time I saw my research paper, this was called a 'Lapis Lazuli'." She declared as her eyes continued to digest this fact.

"Where'd you get it?" Elena's eyes travelled from the stone to her aunt's. She saw her aunt's jaw clench and she took a step forward.

"Someone gave it to me." Her eyes locked on Elena's and her pupils dilated, but Elena only fluttered her lashes in determination. Cate eventually gave up. She took a deep breath in, a loud sigh out, and a smirk on her lips reappeared. Her eyes travelled on Elena's neck. "I love your necklace though. Where'd you get it?"

"Someone gave it to me." Elena mocked her and Cate just stared straight into her eyes at disbelief. Elena didn't like liars, and so what if this was the most recent time she'd seen her favorite aunt again? Elena handed Cate back her necklace and began heading out the door, but before she could close it, Cate already had the door held firmly in her hands.

"I hope we have a talk sometime, Elena. We have a _lot_ of things to catch up on about each other." She blandly whispered to Elena with a dull smile curling her lips. And with those words, Elena was already out of the door and piling up what she's recently discovered. The invitation, the Lapis Lazuli, the Compelling, they all lead up to one thing: Vampires.

* * *

_Journal,_

_I've finally arrived in Mystic Falls and it was as beautiful as it was the last time I've seen it, 3 years ago, when I was still 21. Nothing changed physically from it, just as nothing has changed physically from me. We're the same. But for Elena, I have been shocked. She was no longer the 14-year-old girl I've come to know. She became the doppelganger._

_She knew, and just as Isobel had told me, she was smart. She knew the Lapis Lazuli, she wears a necklace of vervain, and she doubts my invitation, but it is good to know that Jenna was still out of the secret. And then there were the Salvatores who have been rumored to being linked to my niece. They had a relationship with Katherine, and I'm guessing that's the reason why they're with Elena… because of her resemblance. I have to meet these Salvatores and check them out for myself in person._

- _Catalina _

Cate closed her journal and placed it inside her bag. She shot her head up and looked around. The minute Elena got out of the house; Cate darted out of the door and got to Mystic Falls High to see for herself how this vampire duo worked out. She's only seen pictures of them which Isobel has shown her in the past couple of years. They were the best of friends, and they both wanted to explore the folklore even further than just reading about it: They wanted to _become_ it.

So when they did, they eventually got stuck up with themselves and almost massacred the whole town till' it was raining blood. Cate had her affiliates, and she was the only one who has been handed a Lapis Lazuli. Actually, not _a_ Lapis Lazuli, but _3_ Lapis Lazulis: a pair of dangling white gold earrings, an elegant sterling silver necklace and of course, a governor's ring with ruby studs. Jewelry is a girl's best friend.

She was sitting under the shade of a tree, watching the people move in chaos as the mayor's wife, Carol, organized the whole event. She looked and stared at each of their faces, scanning and searching for the ones she was looking for. She shut out everything she's been feeling and focused on her hearing and her sense of smell. _It's the only way I could track a heartless being_, she thought as her eyes shifted. And then she heard something.

"Look at you all retro…" A deep voice said and her sight followed a man who wore a dark button up shirt. She listened in closer… No heartbeat. _This must be a Salvatore_. Then, she sighted the man that he was talking to, and with the commentary, I think I just figured out who Stefan and Damon Salvatore were. _Two heartless vampires walking in the heat of the day, it may be the ring helping them, I suppose_. She continued to listen in to their conversation.

"What are you doing here?"

"Why wouldn't I be here?" He paused to turn to the man in an 1864 suit, Stefan. "Bonnie deactivated the Gilbert invention, Isobel's gone, and its founder's day! I'm here to eat cotton candy and steal your girl." Damon smirked and placed a tap on Stefan's shoulder. Ah, how I loved this kind of brotherly love/sibling rivalry.

"Don't start with me, Damon." He muttered and then looked away. Damon did the same and crossed his arms on his chest.

"Oh, you started it, Stefan, with that whole 'I'm insecure, leave Elena alone' speech. I'm just _enjoying_ that." He mocked his brother and they both mockingly smiled at each other.

"As long as you heard it."

"Wait, huh? What?" Damon raised his hand to his ear and mocked his younger brother again as if he couldn't hear. Stefan scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You have no sense of humor, Stefan." Damon added, and Stefan would be likely to agree.

"Actually, I have no sense of _Damon_ humor."

"Damon humor?" He asks. "Hey look, I get it, I get it. I'm the better, hotter, superior choice and you're scared, now that Katherine is out of the picture, that I'm turning all my attention to Elena, but don't worry. Elena is _not_ Katherine." He emphasizes this Stefan nods in agreement.

"You're right. She's not." And Damon's eyes caught on something. He was speechless, his jaw almost dropped open. Stefan followed his sight, and Cate followed what they were both looking at. _It was my niece_, she thought, walking around in her 1864 ball gown and her hair curled elegantly falling on her shoulders. Elena caught their sight and they both looked flabbergasted. She smirked playfully with mischievous eyes and curtsied at them. Her niece looked _exactly_ like Katherine, and the cliché of it made them both awestruck.

A slight grin appeared on Cate's face. _I think it's time to introduce myself._ She stood up from her position and, with the use of her vampire speed, appeared right behind Damon and Stefan, a couple of feet away, just to make it look like she was really making her way toward them. She took human paced steps and then shouted along.

"Elena! Elena! You left your bag at home." She said and then pretended to be shocked when she saw the Salvatores turn around and caught sight of her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were having a conversation with someone." Cate continued as she handed the bag over to Elena, who was looking at her suspiciously.

"We don't mind." Stefan said politely. _Ah, as Isobel had told me, he was the much politer and more decent Salvatore brother, always so nice._ She gave him a wide smile, and then turned her eyes toward Damon. He looked _much_ better than the pictures Isobel had in 1864, and he's become _much_ hotter too. His eyebrows arched up when he noticed Cate's genuine smile turn into a playful smirk as soon as she laid her eyes on him.

"I believe we haven't met. I'm _Damon_ Salvatore, and this is my little brother, Stefan." Damon introduced himself as he lifted his hand out in offer of a handshake. Cate gave him hers and he _genuinely_ laid a kiss on the back of her hand. She watched this intently. _And Damon, such a charmer, using his looks to counteract the part that he's a complete jackass. How nice._ Damon let go of her hand and then lifted it up for Stefan to shake, and so he did.

"Stefan Salvatore." He smiled with a nod. Cate's eyes never left Elena as the two brothers formally introduced themselves to her, and finally it was her turn to speak.

"_Catalina_ Gilbert, but you may call me Cate." She said her first name with a thick accent. "I am Elena's aunt, being her dad's sister. I visited because of a family issue involving her uncle, John." And Cate caught sight of their sudden exchange in glances. "I have been alarmed that he has been a _dick_ lately, and I just have to stop him from terrorizing my beloved niece's life."

"What are you doing here, Aunt Cate?" Elena interrupted the conversation way too rudely for it not to raise any suspicion. The Salvatores turned their heads toward her and Cate saw the sudden crumpling of their foreheads. Elena began tensing when she realized the tone in her voice, and her aunt's eyebrows began arching up.

_What happened to the respectful niece that used to be 14?_ Cate asked herself as she bit her lower lip. "Well, I'm just here to deliver your bag. You have your extra clothes in there, and you left it at home. I was just thinking fast on my feet and brought this here as fast as I can, so I'm sorry if I interrupted." She mentioned, her voice breaking in a tone of displeasure. Her own niece had disrespected her.

Elena closed her mouth and then looked down at the bag she held in her hands. Cate struggled to place a smile on her face, but she couldn't. She was on the verge of almost walking away, when she remembered her manners. "It was nice meeting you, Damon. You too, Stefan." She faced the both of them, and finally, Elena. "See you at home, Elena." She greeted and turned back on her heels. As soon as she was faced away to the three of them, a devious smirk appeared on her lips and she listened in on their conversation afterwards.

"I'm sorry about that, Stefan. She's just a little concerned about me…" Elena paused at her explanation and then continued. "But I'm also a little concerned about her. I think there's something going on." She whispered to the both of them, but Cate knew that the first part of her business was done. She walked away and tuned them out of her head.

* * *

"John? Is that even possible?" Elena's voice rose up and her forehead crumpled. _It can't be_! She thought to herself as an image of John being her original father appeared in her head.

"There's no proof, but he dated Isobel when she was a teenager and he was the one who brought her to your dad's office for the delivery." Stefan explained to her calmly, but it still seemed that Elena couldn't build up the facts inside her head.

"My whole life, I've never liked this man. I-" She shook her head in disbelief as she stuttered the words out of her mouth. The facts were completely unexplainable. She placed her hand on her forehead and her breathing quickened in pace.

"Sorry." Stefan paused. "I'm Sorry." He repeated. "I just… I wanted to tell you before Damon dropped it on you on some typically… inappropriate… way."

"No, I'm happy that you told me. I just… I really hope that it's not true." She kept shaking her head back in forth. "What am I supposed to do? Do I just… confront him and say _'Are you my Biological father?'_"

"Yes, when you're ready." Stefan replied much too quickly.

"I'm never gonna _be_ ready." She fought back. "Stefan, I have enough problems with the family that I actually care about. Jeremy hates me, and why wouldn't he? My journal gave him every single reason to." And her mind flew through how Jeremy has been avoiding having conversation with her since the day he got a hold of her diary.

_It's his fault anyways_, Elena wanted to think, but she knew she couldn't. It was half of her fault anyways. If she just didn't get into this whole vampire mess, none of this would happen in the first place.

"He's just hurt. He's confused." Stefan explained to her as he took her face in his hands and looked straight into her eyes. There was no other expression except for 100% sympathy and sureness. Stefan was sure that things would go out as planned, and Elena had her mouth slightly opened as she stared at Stefan's green eyes.

"He's not going to forgive me for Vicky, for taking away his memory," She slowly shook her head, even though Stefan's hands were preventing her from doing this. "For lying to him." Her voice almost broke.

"He's your brother, he'll forgive you. Just give him some time." Stefan said and then took Elena in his arms and hugged her. It was the most comforting thing she's ever felt ever since. The warmth of Stefan's arms wrapped around her just made her want to forget about everything. It was just him and her, and they were together. There was nothing else there, and they were happy.

But Stefan broke the silence himself after a short pause. "Speaking of family problems, what's up with you and your aunt?" He asked curiously, his eyebrows arching up.

Elena tried to avoid his gaze. She just continued to nuzzle in his chest, but Stefan pulled her away from him and he caught her eyes. She skeptically doubted if she should tell him the truth, or just extend the not knowing for a little but longer. "She's actually… I'm actually kind of having a few doubts about her." The truth won.

"Doubts on what?"

"On her humanity." She said, and Stefan's forehead crumpled in misunderstanding. _What_? Stefan thought to himself after Elena had said her statement. _What does she mean by 'doubts on her aunt's humanity'?_ He clearly did not understand that and just waited for her to continue. "She had Lapis Lazuli earrings, and she demanded to be invited in. She noticed I was wearing a vervain necklace, and she tried to compel me. Doesn't that scream _vampire_ to you?"

And it caught Stefan back. Was Elena implying that her aunt could've been a vampire? But it was impossible? There were only selected vampires in the world that had the chance to walk in daylight, and for her to have a Lapis Lazuli means that she knows a witch that gave the earrings to her. _How could I have not noticed that_? He asked to himself.

"Are you sure of what you've seen?" Stefan whispered to Elena and her eyes shifted from doubt to just a bitter old scowl.

"Do you doubt me, Stefan?" She asked too defensively, and Stefan raised his hands in front of him in protest.

"No, I just… I would think that both Damon and I would sense it on her if she was one." He added as he thought of the possibilities that could've made it impossible for them to notice her. Wouldn't they hear a heartbeat? Well, it was possible for them to miss that because they were too caught up in charming their ways into Elena's beloved aunt. Anything else could be possible, but how could he have missed that?

"And she just used her charm to relieve that from happening." Elena replied. It was true, she did charm her way into the two brothers' hearts.

"Why do you doubt your own aunt?" Stefan asked, out of the question, and Elena made a brief pause to think about her next answer. She repeatedly opened and closed her mouth several times, hoping for words to come out, but they didn't. It took her for a short while to finally get her answer. Her face became serious, and her eyes dug through Stefan's olive green depths.

"Because my mother was vampire too, I think I would've suspected anyone by now." She whispered in a voice that was low enough for Stefan not to hear, and if he wasn't a vampire, he might have not heard it too.

Stefan nodded, closed his eyes and took a deep breath in before replying. "Fine, fine. I'll work on it."

And with those final words to Elena, he kissed the top of her forehead and she was off, walking away, trying to get some fresh air to renew her senses and to just… break away from it all. Stefan watched as she disappeared towards the crowds, till' he felt a sudden shift in the atmosphere. There's only one thing that could shift the air and turn it into a bad vibe: his brother.

"Work on what?" Damon appeared and asked curiously over his brother's shoulder. Stefan continued to look into space as he gave out a loud sigh.

"She thinks her aunt's a vampire." Stefan insisted and then turned to face his brother. Damon's eyebrows were arched up and he looked at Stefan in a weird, _'huh?'_ kind of way.

"Oh, you mean the hottie that charmed her way into our hearts?" Damon asked. He raised his arms on his sides and he explained. "Well, if you'd ask me, I think she's _nowhere near_ Vampire Boulevard." On Damon's mind, _Catalina Gilbert_ is just sort of 'Aunt Jenna' again, someone who'd have the pleasure of meeting him at first, and then will end up disliking him for what she'd think he was: Just a guy who couldn't his paws off her niece.

"It's because she's a charmer." Stefan interrupted his thoughts, and Damon turned his head to smirk at her brother. _Oh, is she now?_ He thought to himself, and opened his mouth to explain further, but Stefan beat him to it. "You're a charmer and you scream all the way _vampire_." Stefan added, exaggerating his hand gestures. Damon let out a scoff, and rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's because vampires are hot, seductive and irresistible." He made sure his tongue rolled at the words and emphasized them. "I mean, if there were to be ads about vampires, I think I'd make a _great _spokesperson, while you, my brother, give vampires a _bad_ name." He clicked his tongue in the end with an annoying sound: _tsk, tsk, tsk_, but Stefan seemed to ignore this and just went straight to their conversation.

"What are we gonna do about Aunt Catalina?" Stefan asked, still looking in a blank space, trying to think of some way that was not dangerous to prove if Catalina really _was_ a vampire, or not.

"Simple, we spike her drink with vervain, it's as easy as that. She's probably only a couple of years old, we could end her."

_What, Damon, are you crazy?_ Stefan asked himself mentally. _Oh, of course you are_. He added. "No, no, no. She's Elena's aunt, and we can't just go off killing her because of what she is." He added, trying to defend Cate.

Damon placed his hands in front of him defensively, in order to try to calm Stefan down. _Whoa, that was a dumb idea_. He thought, and then added as he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine. We'll go with the vervain plan then."

* * *

Watching the parade was inevitably enjoyable. There was the loud marching band, their loud and thunderous footsteps echoed through the streets as they played their favorite ensemble. The floats have been marching down behind the band, and on them carried the Miss Mystic Falls contestants, in their old renaissance gowns with their favorably good-looking escorts. There stood Caroline Forbes in a flourishing yellow dress, being crowned as Miss Mystic Falls, with her escort Matt Donovan. And of course, there was fabulously gorgeous Elena Gilbert, standing next Stefan Salvatore, her escort.

_Oh, don't they just look lovely?_ One person whispered from behind as another wave of whispers and howls were sounded throughout the parade. Several people watched, as the Miss Mystic Falls contestants and their escorts waved back and forth to the cheering crowd. They were boomingly loud and it overly drowned out _everything_.

In the middle of the cheering crowd was Bonnie Bennett, Elena's _bewitching_ best friend. Fortunate for Elena, she had a witch for a best friend, but for Bonnie, the whole magic thing isn't actually a known gift. _It's a curse_, she once told her. _I didn't want any part of this, and I can't believe I'm stuck with it for the rest of my life_.

Thank God for everything, Bonnie knew how to cope up. She knew how to handle things better than expected. Elena gave her a huge wave, and a tight grin came upon Bonnie's beautiful olive face, her curly black tresses falling on her face. But, when Bonnie was about to wave back, a black figure came in between her and Elena's way.

Damon, with a devilish smirk upon his face, came between them, crossed his arms over his chest and waved at Elena. Elena looked at Stefan uneasily as they shifted their positions on the float, but disregarded his actions as they just ignored it and continued to wave to the countless people who were in the parade.

Damon turned his head to see Bonnie, and approached her immediately, with a small hint of hesitation.

"What do you want?" Bonnie asked her bitterly, her beautiful face turning into a scowl. She placed her arms across her chest as Damon placed his hands inside his pockets. He tried to avoid her gaze, and looked straight at the floats and the beautiful pageant contestants with their striking escorts.

"Just watching the parade." He replied, finally connecting his cerulean blue eyes with her green ones. Just then, Bonnie rolled her eyes, gave a loud scoff, and turned on her heels, but before she could have reached a distance, Damon asked her curiously. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you." She said firmly, and Damon disregarded her words. He was so used to being told stuff like that all the time, that if he could earn 25 cents for every insult and remark given to him, he would already have enough money to get himself a lifetime supply of alcohol without having to _'compel'_ anybody.

"I wanted to say something to you." Damon replied softly.

"Just leave me alone." She spat back, but she was stuck frozen when he heard the next set of words that came out from his mouth.

"Thank you," Bonnie's eyes widened in shock. _Did Damon Salvatore just apologize to _me? _Someone he should've hated from the very beginning of time? _Her jaw almost dropped, but she refused to be exposed, so she tried to hold her composure together. "The device that Emily spelled could've killed me. I don't take what you did lightly so…" Damon found it hard to say the words he knew he needed to say, and for him, swallowing his pride was easier said than done, but he did. He managed to repeat saying, "Thank you," twice.

"I did it for Elena." Bonnie replied, her voice overly defensive, her eyebrows arching upwards. But despite of her words, Damon still continued showing gratitude toward her.

"I know that, but I'm still very grateful and…" He paused for a while, biting his lip nervously as he tried to form the words in his head. "I owe you." He finally finished and with that, he nodded his head and began turning away. "Enjoy the parade."

Those were his final words as he began making his way through the crowd to find a suitable exit. The best and nearest place to be when you just figured that you apologized to a Bennett witch, had to be _Mystic Grill_. The deed he just did was against his moral ethics, which weren't moral at all, so did they really deserve to be called_ moral_?

Walking through a wave of people cheering and applauding for the beautiful candidates standing on the floats, he noticed a familiar glowing face that stood out from the crowd. Her not so familiar green eyes followed the path where the parade floats went, and her bright pink lips formed an unsure straight line. Her messy black hair that matched his, stood perfectly against her head and Damon just knew that he had to approach her. It was Elena's very infamous aunt, Aunt Catalina.

He took his strides quickly till' he reached her side, but before he opened his mouth, Cate already had the words out in the atmosphere for him to hear. "Are you enjoying the parade?"

Damon turned his head to face hers and he saw how her eyes shifted from that unsure look, to a look of pure playfulness. He tried to match the look in her eyes with her own mischievous smirk and humor filled eyes. "Catalina, right? Elena's beloved aunt, the one that charmed the hell out of me, and not Jenna, the one who hates me." Damon replied, giving emphasis to the part wherein Jenna, for a fact, didn't exactly _enjoy_ his existence.

"And your Damon, my niece's boyfriend's much hotter brother." Cate playfully replied to him and his eyes widened in shock. This girl was _nothing_ like her niece, and nothing like her sister-in-law, Jenna. _This one's interesting_, Damon thought to himself as her began closing in to meet her face. She was _fearless_. She didn't back away like most girls do when he gets all _'predatory'_ and invades their personal spaces with his own intoxicating presence. But who said she was like most girls? She _is_ John's sister.

"Hmm, I like you already." Damon added, his smirk widening even more, indicating his well-known interest with her. He closed in on her face even more, and when Damon thought that he already had her in the verge of him seducing her, Cate whispered something just a mere inch away from his lips.

"I like you too; too bad I'm not into the whole cougar thing." Cate said while Damon's eyes studied her beautiful face. His blue eyes connected with her green ones. He leaned in much closer to meet her lips, but instead of meeting them, he traced a line from her jaw to her ear, and bent in closer to whisper something to her.

"I'm guessing that I'm much _older_ than how you think I am."

"Oh really?" She asked humorously, and smiled against his right shoulder. She stared at his neck and began gritting her teeth. Damon could hear her teeth grinding against each other in his ear, but disregarded this as to the fact that he blew warm air into hers, and whispered:

"_Yes, because I'm actually a 175-year-old vampire."_

But without even the most spine tingling sensations, or Goosebumps, or even a slight shiver, Cate didn't move. She chuckled and placed a small kiss on Damon's neck. Everything became silent for a second, and Damon's senses heightened. He could _see_ everything. He could _feel_ everything. He could _hear_ everything, and the one thing that he couldn't hear was… A heartbeat. "And I've only been one for 3 years."

She pulled away from Damon and he stared at her with a _wide-eyed_ expression. _How could she literally be a vampire? I thought Elena was just becoming insane_? He thought to himself as he tried piling up the information in his head. Cate shook her head and gave a toothy grin. "Why I don't seem surprised by this?" She asked him, rhetorically.

"I know what you are, Damon. That's actually one of those things that made me _pretend_ as if Elena left her bag at home. I know the both of you. Damon and Stefan Salvatore: turned in 1864 by a Ms. Katherine Pierce in old Mystic Falls for about a century and a half ago." She said for a matter of fact, placing her hands inside her leather jacket's pockets. It had been quite a cliché for her to have been wearing all black this day, when she certainly didn't like _black_ at all. It was just a color of pure darkness, and it didn't fit her sunshiny personality to be wearing black, but it did suit her misunderstood kind of _darkness_.

"Look who's surprised now." She whispered, tilting her head to the side, and pacing back and forth, just in front of Damon.

"How do you know about me?" Damon asked curiously, with an interrogating tone. His hands were tightly wound and crossed over his well-toned chest, under his black button up shirt. His eyes narrowed at her, as he followed her every movement. _It looks like there's another crazy _bitch_ on the loose, _he thought, as he waited for Aunt Catalina's explanation.

"You may have already heard about Isobel's _infamous_ return, have you?" And this surprised Damon. _She's linked to Isobel?_ He thought in shock, and his eyes widened, but he tried to keep his composure under his well-wielded mask. Instead of having to react to that, he just kept still and continued to listen in for more. "Well, she said she was driven out of town by one _hot_ vampire, so I decided to check this vampire out for myself." And now, she was just playing coy.

In an instant, from Damon's position, he shifted quickly and was directly in front of Cate. This time, she flinched in her own position, and this brought a devilish smirk upon his lips. But this smile, it disappeared right away and turned to a look of mock disgust at her lies. His eyebrows arched up at her and he stared straight into her eyes. "Hmm, and why don't I believe that?"

"Cause' it's not worth believing." Cate gave up, without even a fight, and to Damon, this seemed very wrong. What kind of person tells someone a lie and eventually tells the truth? Damon rolled his eyes and scowled at her impatiently. "Tell you what, how about we talk about this some other time over a few shots of bourbon? I'll be around, just trying to overhear a couple of conversations on the council and what their actions will be tonight." She offered to her invitation to him, and he smirked at her, but she mistook this.

In one moment, Damon was turning his head from left to right, observing the crowd's inattentiveness from his peripheral vision, and in another, she pushed Cate forcefully into the nearest tree and trapped her in between his arms, his hand firmly planted on the bark of the tree on either side of her head. His smirk disappeared once again, and he growled at her.

"I gotta better idea. How about you talk about it now, and I'll try not to _end_ you." He offered her his idea sarcastically, and Cate pouted at his action. In one swift motion, she grabbed Damon's left wrist with her left hand and twisted him around. His arms were tightly held right behind his back, and his body was pushed up against the tree. Cate had overpowered him. Damon let out an unintentional groan, and glared at her. _She's only 3 years old, how could she overpower me?_

"Don't you think I know better that you wouldn't hurt me?" She tilted her head and grinned to him once again. She began applying more pressure into his arm more than ever, and another pained groan let out from his lips. She leaned in close to whisper something in his ear. "Elena might hate me right now, because of the secret I've kept from her, but when I die, I'm pretty sure she'll break down and try and kill herself too."

"As for the extra strength?" She added. "Well, I've been practicing a lot. I didn't have lots to do before. Isobel has always been the messenger, so I had a lot of extra time." She answered his unspoken question and she smiled at that, but when she was caught off guard, Damon immediately took his rightful dominant place back and had his hand wrapped around her neck.

"You may have lots of time to _practice_ whatever it is that you need _practicing_ with, but I'll _always_ be older and _stronger_ than you." He grinned at her, seriously leaning in close so that his warm breath made contact with her skin. Cate playfully licked her lips at him as her eyes shifted from their humorous look, to a piercing glare of total seduction. _Am I seriously getting turned on by this?_ Damon thought as a wide smirk crossed his lips.

"Now, am I just sick, or do I find you _really_ hot?" And those words just pushed Damon of his own edge, but he knew better.

"You're good. Katherine been teaching you all she knows?" He fought back, tightening the grip around her throat, but it seemed like she tolerated it, she tolerated the _pain_. It was as if nothing was even constricting around her throat. She just attempted to shake her head.

"I told you, I'm not talking." She smirked, placing a hand around Damon's wrist, the one that tightly constricted around her neck. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, you're brother is on his way in… 5… 4… 3… 2…" Damon turned his head around in search of his brother, and there he was, appearing just taking quick strides with a worried look on his face. _Ah, Stefan. Too many frown lines_. He laughed at his own inner joke but stop in midst way when he heard a soft whisper. "One…"

When he saw his hand, it no longer held Catalina's neck, and she had disappeared. His hands only grasped the bark of the tree tightly, and observing what his position was, he immediately pulled his hand away and waited for his brother to come up. When Stefan did, his forehead crumpled and he asked him, "Oh, please tell me that you didn't _threaten _her."

Damon placed his hands on Stefan's shoulder and mock apologized to him. "I'm sorry, Stef, but that's my job." He added, and Stefan snorted. He began walking away. _How could my brother become such an imbecile? _He though. Despite of how much he loved his brother, sometime he just went too far with things.

He kept his normal strides, till' something stopped him from behind. He turned around to meet Damon's blue eyes, and they were serious. They were rarely serious, and when it comes to points like these, Stefan just knows he has to listen to him. "Don't worry about it, little brother. She threatened me too. And I think I have found out _lots_ to talk about with you."

* * *

**To Be Continued…**

**Author's Note:**

_Okay, so as you've witnessed, this story is strictly the way it was written on television, and the only thing that changed was the fact that an extra character was added, Elena's fictional aunt, Catalina Gilbert. Profile: Hair color, Raven Black. Eye color, olive green. Hair style, above the shoulder length spiked. Height, 5'8". Favorite color, yellow, and etcetera._

_As you've _also_ seen, this story will be written in books, cause' one episode is just too damn long to fit in one chapter. The next chapter will be called, _**'Book I: Founder's Day: Part II'** _and it will have the ending of Season 2, just as you've watched on TV, only with a few more excerpts from my imagination. _

_Now, I promise, the whole story will go as planned, except for a few couple of things that Aunt Cate might expose to Elena before she was even destined to know._

_And, also thanks for reading!_


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